Political Quotes

“I rise today to call upon my colleagues to support a bill to close the School of the Americas. The School of the Americas is an institute that has outlived its usefulness and its purpose. SOA was established over 50 years ago. Its mission is to provide military education and training to military personnel of Central America, South America, and Caribbean countries. The training provided at the school in tactical intelligence, infantry tactics, combat skills, and battle planning was designed in accordance with U.S. strategy of a bygone era: to create a Latin and South American staging area to thwart the Communist threat. But times have changed and there is no longer a Soviet bloc threatening to attack the United States. Unfortunately, SOA has not successfully adapted to the great changes in the world since the 1992 breakup of the Soviet Union. Despite attempts made over the past couple of years to update the curriculum and improve the selection process for students and the quality of the teaching staff, SOA remains an anachronism. In the post-cold-war era, we need to strengthen civilian institutions in Latin America and help these countries continue to reform their militaries.”